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Hussein's stepson deported from U.S.

July 10, 2002|By Items compiled from Tribune news services.

MIAMI, FLORIDA — Saddam Hussein's stepson has been deported to New Zealand less than a week after immigration agents arrested him in Miami, where he had traveled to attend a flight school without a proper visa.

Mohammed Nour al-Din Saffi, 36, left Miami on Monday night for Los Angeles, where he switched planes for the final leg overseas. An Immigration and Naturalization Service spokesman said Saffi would be escorted by INS agents until his arrival in New Zealand, of which he is a citizen. No criminal charges will be pursued, the INS said.

Saffi, a flight engineer for an airline in New Zealand, got into trouble last week because he did not apply for a student visa to take flight training at Aeroservice Aviation Center near Miami International Airport. Ziad Jarrah, one of the Sept. 11 hijackers, trained at the same school.

Authorities said there was no evidence that Saffi was connected to any terrorist group.